HACKLEBURG, Ala. – Addison handled Lynn in round three and they were back on the field for a highly-ranked battle at Hackleburg Thursday night, competing in the Class 1A semifinals for the first time since 1995. Unfortunately, the Bulldogs’ stellar playoff run ended there with a pair of losses to the Panthers (8-2, 13-3).
Hackleburg 8 – Addison 2 (Game One)
Jed Wilkins led off the top of the first with a single and later in the inning, Lane Stewart lined an RBI single to right field to plate Wilkins and give Addison a 1-0 lead. However, Hackleburg responded with three runs in the bottom half of the inning to take a 3-1 lead into the second. Both teams were scoreless in the second and third innings, but the Panthers added three more runs in the bottom of the fourth to stretch the lead to 6-1.
Back to back singles from Tucker Thompson and Stone Talley put runners on the corners in the top of the fifth. A sacrifice fly from Stewart allowed Thompson to score and cut the lead to 6-2 but Hackleburg answered with two more runs in the bottom half of the fifth to make it an 8-2 game going into the sixth.
The Bulldogs were unable to chip away any more in the final two innings and the Panthers took game one 8-2.
Stewart (one hit) recorded a pair of RBIs in the loss and Talley posted a pair of hits. Wilkins, Thompson and Carter Pratt each added a hit as well.
Hackleburg 13 – Addison 3 (Game Two)
The Panthers plated one run in the top of the first to take an early lead and they added two more runs in the top of the second to make it a 3-0 game. Hackleburg kept the momentum going in the top of the third, tacking on nine more runs to move in front 12-0.
Jed Wilkins launched a solo home run over the left field wall to trim the lead to 12-1 in the bottom of the third. After the Panthers scored another run to pull ahead 13-1, Addison was able to load the bases in the bottom of the fourth but couldn’t bring any of the runners home and Hackleburg maintained a 12-run lead.
After Wilkins lined a single to left field, Stone Talley blasted a 2-run home run in the bottom of the fifth to make it a 13-3 game. However, the Bulldogs were unable to score enough to extend the game and their season came to an end with a 13-3 loss.
Wilkins (two hits) finished with one RBI in the loss and Talley (HR) drove in a pair of RBIs. Tucker Thompson, Lane Stewart, Kiah Lake and Kaden Dyson each added a hit as well.
